God- My Love

Ephesians 3:18-19 (NLT)

19 May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully.

“God” and “love” are two words that are interchangeable.  You cannot have one without the other because “God IS love.”  It is who He is—and because that is who He is--that is what He does.  He radiates who He is to us.  The closer we draw to Him, the more we experience His love and then can in turn, give it to others.

It’s not good enough to have head knowledge that God is love but in our scripture today, He says He wants us to “experience the love of Christ.”  That’s where the rubber meets the road—when you can see His love poured out in your own life.

As you open your heart and say, “Love, come and live in my heart,” His love will take up residence there.  As we cherish His presence we will have a greater understanding of “how wide, how long, how high and how deep His love” really is.  (Ephesians 3:18)

The more you open your heart to Him the more love He will pour into you—and the more love you’ll have to pour out to others.

GPS  (God’s Directions)

• I John 4:16 NLT

• Zephaniah 3:17

• Romans 8:39

Prayer Focus:

Tell God that you want to experience His love today and then be willing to open your heart to Him.

GOD— My Everlasting Father

Isaiah 9:6 (NIV)

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders.  And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

“Everlasting Father” …….. If we ever needed a strong father figure in our lives, it is now.  Our Father’s strength and truth provides stability in our lives, so that we can feel secure when the sand seems to be shifting all around us.

Romans 8:15 (Amplified Bible) puts it this way: “….you have received the Spirit of adoption [the Spirit producing sonship…]  

When you surrendered your life to Christ, you were adopted into the family.  God Almighty became your Father.  A well-meaning father always watches out for his children—How much more would our Heavenly Father watch out for us!!

“Everlasting” means without end…no matter what…from now on….   Now that really adds stability, doesn’t it.?  As long as we are on this green earth (and of course, beyond in Heaven) we will always have a Daddy that we can lean on and trust!  All I can says is:  AMAZING!!

GPS  (God’s Directions)

• Isaiah 26:3   God’s peace
• Hebrews 13:5b  [AMP]   Never leave you without support
• I Chronicles 29:11  Everlasting to everlasting!

Prayer Focus:

Spend time today thanking Him that He is “Father” to you.  Tell Him today that you are trusting Him to watch out for you, and thank Him that He will be you every minute of every day. 

***************************************************

NOTE:  If you have not surrendered your life to Christ, then you can do that right now.  Bow your heart before Him now and pray.

Father, I know that I am on the outside looking in because I have not submitted my life to You.  Forgive me for resisting You, Lord.  Forgive me for all of my sins.  I so want to be in Your family and to know that You are with me all the time and that we have a relationship.  Jesus, come into my heart and be my Lord and my Savior.  Help me to live my life for God, my Father.  Thank You, Jesus.  Amen.

 GOD- My Restorer

Psalm 23:1-3New King James Version (NKJV)

The Lord is my shepherd;I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul…

Each of us are made up of a body, a soul and a spirit.  Our souls are the “house” that our emotions and our thoughts live in.  Those thoughts and emotions cause us to make either good or bad choices.  If our soul is healthy, we will make healthy choices.  To keep our souls healthy, we must keep our eyes on Jesus and what He did for us at the cross.

There are so many things in our lives that can cause our souls to be fragmented where we feel like we are at loose ends and out of sorts.  

God is the Restorer of our souls.  He’s the One who settles us down so we can receive His truth.  When our souls are restored our hope is restored, our faith is restored, and our vision for the future is restored.  We sense that we are in the presence of God and His peace becomes so evident to us.

GPS  (God’s Directions)

• Jeremiah 30:17  He restores us to health

• Amos 9:11    He rebuilds the brokenness

• Philippians 4:7   He restores our peace

Prayer Focus:

When your thoughts start to run away with you, begin to thank God that He restores your thoughts and your emotions to health so that you can think right and react right—-and enjoy God’s peace!

GOD- My Advocate

John 15:26   Amplified Bible (AMP)

But when the Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Advocate, Intercessor, Strengthener, Standby) comes, Whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of Truth Who comes (proceeds) from the Father, He [Himself] will testify regarding Me.

An “advocate” is one who is called along side of another to plead that one’s case.  God is our very own “advocate.”  He knows our case well and  He defends us, helps us, strengthens us and stands by us, no matter what we are going through.  He is “at the ready,” to intervene and take over……when we invite Him to.

The Holy Spirit is a gentleman.  He waits to be asked to enter a situation.  We can feel all alone—thinking that He is far away and doesn’t even care, when the truth of the matter is He is right beside us waiting to be asked to come into the situation.

He is our “Advocate” and He is also all those other capitalized words in the scripture above.  And that is so very good to know!

GPS  (God’s Directions)

• Hebrews 13:5b

• John 16:7

• John 14:26

Prayer Focus:

Begin to praise God that He is all of those “capitalized words” to you.

God- My Friend

John 15:15  (NKJV)

15 No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.

When we think of the word “friend,” we think of someone we can talk to, someone who will listen and someone who will partner with us through the good times and the not so good times.

The Greek meaning for “friends” in this verse means “companion” and “associate.”  (Strong’s Concordance No. 5384)

A friend is someone who we associate with and is a companion to us. Think about it…..in this verse Jesus is saying, “no longer do I call you servants.”  Servants just do what they are told and they have no understanding why.  When you are a friend of God, He takes the time to understand you and to explain to you why things happen.  When you think of it, any good father would—IF you talk to Him.

If Moses and Abraham can be a friend of God, you can be a friend of God.  Talk to God as a friend and as you listen to Him as a friend, you will enter into a new level of relationship with Him.

GPS (God’s Directions)

• Exodus 33:11  Moses was a friend of God
• Proverbs 18: 24  Jesus sticks close like a brother
• James 2:23  Abraham was a friend of God

Prayer Focus:

Spend time praising God with this song.

Song:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcxKRsn-hGc

God- My Shelter

Joel 3:16New King James Version (NKJV)

The Lord also will roar from Zion,
And utter His voice from Jerusalem;
The heavens and earth will shake;
But the Lord will be a shelter for His people,
And the strength of the children of Israel.

God shelters us from the storms of life.  He covers us and protects us and it feels so good not to be alone. 

Truth always trumps our feelings.  Here is another truth:

He shall cover you with His feathers,  And under His wings you shall take refuge;  His truth shall be your shield and buckler.  (Psalms 91:4)

When our feelings try to overtake us, we can say:  “Here’s what I know for sure……..”

Fear…..Hebrews 13:5b Amplified Bible 

Brokenness……I Thessalonians 5:23 The Message

Hopelessness…..Luke 18:27 

Needs……Philippians 4:19

Worry….I Peter 5:7

……and the list goes on and on!!

GPS  (God’s Directions)

• Psalms 91:2  Refuge

• Ephesians 6:16   Shield

• Psalms 27:5   Secret Place 

Prayer Focus:

Begin to praise God for those things that you “know for sure.”  

  God-  My Strength

Psalm 43:2  Amplified Bible (AMP)

For You are the God of my strength [my Stronghold—in Whom I take refuge];

When I read this verse, I think of crawling up into my “Heavenly Daddy’s” lap when I feel weak and vulnerable.  I am so thankful that I am not in this life alone and I can run to this place of refuge and find my strength in Him.

Psalms 18:2 in the Amplified Bible has lots of Greek words that make this even clearer.  Here they are:  

My Rock
My Fortress
My Deliverer  
My God
My Strength
My Shield
My Horn  (Strength and Light)
My High Tower

These are some very descriptive words that describe the immensity of our wonderful God.

Sometimes life throws us a curve ball.  At that point we have a choice—worry or run into “Daddy’s” arms.  It’s in His arms that we get truth and direction.  It’s in His arms that we gain strength to stand up and tackle the situation before us.  

God and us together are strong against the forces that are coming against us.  Worry weakens you even more, so we can’t afford to go there.  The outcome would not be good!

GPS  (God’s Directions)

• 2 Kings 6:16

• Isaiah 30: 15b  NLT

• Exodus 15:2

Prayer Focus:

Spend some time thanking God out loud, using the list above.  Thank You, God, that You are my Rock, my Fortress…”

   God— My Deliverer

Psalm 34:4 (NKJV)

I sought the Lord, and He heard me, And delivered me from all my fears.

Does God really hear my prayers?  The Bible says that He does, and I know from personal experience that He does.  I didn’t always know that.  At first, I thought He was too big to hear my little prayers, but now I know that He cares about everything that I have concerns about and He has all the answers.

There are so many possible “fears” out there these days.  Fear of financial failure…fear of disease…..fear for your children….and the list goes on and on.  When fear comes in the day or in the night, God has the promise that delivers us from that thought.  Here’s what we can say the minute the fearful thought comes:  

“What are we going to do about this, God?” 

 He is the One who has the solution to every situation that we feel trapped in.  By the way, one of the meanings for deliver is “release.”  Do you want to be released from all fear?  Call on your Deliverer.

GPS  (God’s Directions)

• I John 5: 14-15     God hears
• Psalms 91: 15       Rescue
• 2 Samuel 22:2      My Deliver

Prayer Focus:

Make a list of those things that you are worrying about—those things that are too big for you—and say, “What are we going to do about this, God?”

God— My Redeemer

Isaiah 59:20   New Living Translation 

“The Redeemer will come to Jerusalem to buy back those in Israel who have turned from their sins,”  says the Lord.

Redeem means to buy back—-regain possession of something lost.  Here are some other words that describe redeem:  free, liberate, rescue, save.

Jesus Christ went to the cross to save our lives from destruction, sorrow, pain, loss, oppression…..and the list goes on.  That’s why we call Him our Redeemer.  It’s always been His plan that we should live “the good life.”  He released all the blessings of heaven upon us, through His sacrificial blood.

You might say, I am not living “the good life” and I don’t see those “blessings” —in fact, quite the contrary.

That’s because we have an enemy whose full time job is to “kill, steal and destroy.”   And might I add—lie!!  He is always trying to keep us from all that God has for us because He wants to “destroy” our relationship with God.

We need to “work smarter” by reading God’s promises in His word and take them for ourselves.  When he lies to me, I just say, “Too late!  God already promised me ____________________ and it’s a done deal!”  

GPS  (God’s Directions)

Ephesians 2:10  Amplified Bible    (“the good life”)

Ephesians 3:20  Amplified Bible  (the blessings)

John 10:10   (the enemy’s full time job)

Prayer Focus:

Spend time thanking God for all that He has provided for you.

   God— My Healer

Psalm 103:3 Amplified Bible 

3 Who forgives [every one of] all your iniquities, Who heals [each one of] all your diseases….

I am going to begin “30 Days—30 Names of God.”  It’s important for us to know who God what His nature is—how He thinks and all that He has provided for us.  I have heard Bill Johnson From Bethel Church in California say, “God wants us to get what Jesus paid for.”  Jesus paid for our healing and it blesses God when we have a testimony of healing to share with others.  Each testimony reinforces the goodness and greatness of our God.

Psalms 103:3 is just one of the many healing promises in God’s Word.  The Bible is His covenant promise to us and He signed this covenant with His blood.  When we surrendered our lives to Christ and put Him first place all of His covenant promises became available to us.  Healing and wholeness is one of His many covenant promises.  If you would like to see more promises, you can go to this website:

http://www.savedhealed.com/healing.htm

[I especially like this site because Dan Downey explains the scriptures in a clear and simple way. 

GPS  (God’s Direction)

• Isaiah 53: 4-5

• 3 John 2

• I Peter 2:24

Prayer Focus:

Thank Jesus for the price He paid for you to be free from sickness, pain and disease.

God Makes Everything Right 

Psalm 103:6 (The Message)

God makes everything come out right; He puts victims back on their feet.

Ever feel like a victim?  It’s such a helpless feeling, isn’t it?  It feels like your circumstances are way bigger than you are and that there is no help in sight.  That’s why this promise from God Himself is so powerful.

One day when I was studying, God began to show me about His “power words.”  If you look at this scripture, what word stands out to you as an absolute?

The answer is “everything.”  It means everything!!  Every little thing!  Every big thing!  EVERY thing!!  That’s God’s power word to you.  Now read it again:

“God makes EVERY thing come out right.”

That’s one of those “You shouldn’t have said it unless you meant it” times!!  If God said it, we can believe it!

GPS  (God’s Directions)

• Psalms 103: 6a MSG*
• Psalms 33:5
• I John 3:8

Prayer Focus:

Thank God for His mercy and His grace toward you.  He is a really good “Daddy.”

Note:  If you don’t have “The Message- MSG” Bible, you can go to www.biblegateway.com and find all the versions.  Here’s what “The Message” says.

Psalms 103:6a MSG

God is sheer mercy and grace;
      not easily angered, he's rich in love.
   He doesn't endlessly nag and scold,
      nor hold grudges forever.
   He doesn't treat us as our sins deserve,
      nor pay us back in full for our wrongs.
   As high as heaven is over the earth,
      so strong is his love to those who fear him.
   And as far as sunrise is from sunset,
      he has separated us from our sins.
   As parents feel for their children,
      God feels for those who fear him.
   He knows us inside and out,
      keeps in mind that we're made of mud.

God Understands Me

Hebrews 4:15 (The Message)

We don't have a priest who is out of touch with our reality.

Jesus Christ Is in touch with our reality!!  That is so good to know when we are going through difficult things.

When you stop to think about it, Jesus was rejected, dragged into court and lied about, spit upon and tortured.  People wanted to murder Him, they emotionally and physically abused Him, etc.  I would say that He does understand what we are going through because He went through it all first.

The Bible says that He became a man so He could understand what we are going through.  It also says that when we come to Him, He will pour out mercy and grace for our situations.  

So whatever you are going through today, know that Jesus is aware of it, He went through it Himself so He understands it, and …….. here’s the best part---are you ready???

He is bringing you right on through it!! The Bible says that He always causes us to triumph if we come to Him.

GPS  (God’s Directions)

• Hebrews 2: 14, 17
• Philippians 2:7 (New Living Translation)
• Hebrews 2:17

Prayer Focus:

Spend some time thanking Him for going through all of that for you so you could be victorious.  Thank Him for understanding first hand, all that you are going through.

 God Word is Alive!

Hebrews 4:12 (New International Version)

 ¹² For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. 

The Bible is truly God’s Word and it alive. After receiving Christ and His Holy Spirit, the words in the Bible come alive as a personal message to us. 

The truth comes off the page and wraps itself around our hearts.  It’s here that we  recognize the lies that we may have allowed ourselves to believe.  The knife that goes between the joints and the marrow is the same knife that goes between the truth and the lies.

What we believe to be true influences how we think, how we feel, how we act, the choices we make, etc.  The result is disillusionment, depression, despair, in that order.

If you have invited Jesus Christ to be your Lord and your Savior, you have the Spirit of Truth available to you day and night.  He’s the One who encourages you with the truth of God’s promises.  You are not alone and you have the wonderful words of life available to you!

GPS (God’s Directions)

• John 1: 12-13 NIV
• John 6:63  NIV
• John 16:13  NIV

Prayer Focus:

When you sit down to read and pray, thank God for His Holy Spirit who is right there with you.  He is the One who divides the truth from the lies.

 Today I Believe

Hebrews 4: 7 The Message

God keeps renewing the promise and setting the date as today……..Today, please listen, don't turn a deaf ear . . . 

God’s Word is filled with many wonderful promises that are designed to bring us peace and joy. As we focus on God and what He has said and not on the adverse situation, our faith is strengthened.   Every morning we say, “Today is the day!”

We are the ones that bring life into what He has said in His Word.  When we say “Today my situation turns a corner for good.”  “Today I receive my healing, according to Matthew 8: 16-17 which says that you took my infirmities and bore my diseases.”  “Today is the day of salvation.”

Each day is a new day to renew in your heart and mind to all that God has said—all that He has promised.  Thats why I encourage you to keep a journal of the things God is telling you.  Then you can encourage yourself by going back over it.

God is saying, “Don’t turn a deaf ear.”  This is a new day and the promises that He made yesterday are active and new for today.  Remember God is not keeping it from you; He is keeping it for you.  When we praise Him for that powerful truth, it brings us into personal fellowship with Him—and that’s where He gives us the next personal promise.

GPS  (God’s Directions)

• 2 Corinthians 6:2
• Romans 4:20
• Psalms 22: 3 New Living Translation

Prayer Focus:

Speak to God in faith and start each sentence with, “Today I believe ……….”

              Encourage Yourself In God

1 Samuel 30:6 (New International Version)

⁶ David was greatly distressed because the men were talking of stoning him; each one was bitter in spirit because of his sons and daughters. But David found strength in the LORD his God. 

Have you ever felt “greatly distressed?”  I am sure we all have at times.  It’s at these times we can either go under our circumstances or over them.  We have the choice of taking the low road or the high road.  The low road is when our emotions take control.  Remember the last time you did that?  What was the outcome?  Even more distress, right?

The other choice is the high road.  That’s when we look up and see God holding out His hand to us.  We can grasp His hand and let Him help us get on top of our circumstances.

Which one is easier?  Which one is better?  

It’s always easier to naturally let our emotions run wild.  But if we would stop and remember what happened the last time we took that road, we might stop and say, “Not going there!!”

The better way is always to go with God!  His way always leads to peace—and it ends in joy—no matter what you are facing.

David was in deep trouble, but he encouraged himself in God and found his strength there.  You can too!

GPS  (God’s Direction)

I Samuel 30: 1-20

Proverbs 16:3  Amplified Bible

Romans 15:13

Prayer Focus:

Commit your distressing situation to God and see how He makes you successful right in the middle of it.

        Confident in God

Isaiah 50:7  (New International Version)

Because the Sovereign Lord helps me, I will not be disgraced.  Therefore have I set my face like flint, and I know I will not be put to shame.

This promise has the word “CONFIDENCE” written all over it. The first few words indicates that we can have a relationship with the Lord.  We can get to know God’s character by having experiences with Him.  As we partner with God and spend time with Him, we’ll get to know Him personally.

Then comes the promise:  “I will NOT be disgraced.”  Two meanings for the word disgraced are “humiliated” and “shamed.”  Without God in our lives these words can easily become part of our vocabulary and our experience.  But with God we can have the confidence that as we trust Him, He will keep us from being humiliated and disgraced.

It is then that we can set our faces like flint.  In other wards we can depend on God and not be moved off of our trust in Him.  When we lean totally over on Him and His ways, He will keep us from shame.

GPS  (God’s Directions)

• Exodus 14:13
• II Samuel 22:34
• Psalms 9:10

Prayer Focus: 

Spend some time making a list of those areas of your life that you need to turn over to God.  In your own words, release each one to God.  You may have to release them daily—until you have full confidence that they are in God’s hands.

A Soft Heart

Ezekiel 11:19 (Amplified Bible)

¹⁹And I will give them one heart [a new heart] and I will put a new spirit within them; and I will take the stony [unnaturally hardened] heart out of their flesh, and will give them a heart of flesh [sensitive and responsive to the touch of their God],

When bad things happen to us, we tend to put a guard up around our hearts so that we don’t get hurt again.  We protect ourselves and in doing so, we lock God out of our lives. If our hearts hurt, we don’t want anyone touching it. However, if we allow God to heal us of those hurts, our hearts become soft and subtle again.  It’s then that we can feel God’s loving and gentle touch.

God is so gentle and He knows exactly what happened to us and He wants to heal it for us.  He wants us to allow Him to remove each layer of protection that we have used in the past so that He can get to the source of the pain and heal it.  He will take it one layer at a time and He won’t go past what we will allow Him to do.  Let’s let Him get to the heart of the matter and let's allow Him to take out our hard hearts and replace them with a soft heart that recognizes His gentle touch.

GPS  (God’s Directions)

Hebrews 13:5 Amplified Bible

Ezekiel 36: 26-27                 

Jeremiah 24: 7

Prayer Focus:

Father, keep my heart soft and pliable in Your hands and help me to respond to Your gentle touch.

     Help Me, God

Zechariah 4:6 (New International Version © 2010)

 ⁶ So he said to me, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the LORD Almighty. 

Have you realized how heavy “life” can get when you are trying to figure everything out?   I certainly have!  And in addition to coming up with our own solutions and our own plans, we then try to do it all ourselves.  And then after we do that and have no peace,—“life” gets heavier yet!!  

Actually His Word says that He will never leave us.  I suppose that never actually means never!!  So if I am busy in my day and come up against some obstacle or something where a decision is required, I could just say, “What do I do here?” —- and actually expect an answer??

Here’s a thought——maybe we should begin to  train ourselves to wait on the answer.  To give God time to show us what He wants and how He wants things done.  I know from my experience that if I purpose to wait, I don’t have to wait very long.  Waiting, however is something that doesn’t exactly come naturally in this day and age, but when I choose to do it, the outcome is well worth it!!

GPS  (God’s Directions)

• Hebrews 13: 5-6
• Isaiah 40: 31
• Isaiah 41:10

Prayer Focus:

Thank God for His willingness to partner with you today—to show you the way, to show you how to do things and to carry the load of your cares, as you give them to Him.

God Loves Me

Isaiah 54:10 (The Message)

For even if the mountains walk away and the hills fall to pieces,  My love won't walk away from you,  My covenant commitment of peace won't fall apart."  The God who has compassion on you says so. 

What is God saying to us in this verse??  “My love won’t walk away from you…”  That means He doesn’t get discouraged when we mess up.  When we step out of faith and start to worry, He doesn’t withhold His love for us.  He knows we are human and that we are going to make mistakes.

Like any well meaning parent, when one of His children goes astray or even rebels, He is faithful to open His arms wide and wait for their return.

It is so much fun to be with someone who loves you.  He waits for us to come to Him.  He longs to see us and spend time with us.  The Almighty God of the universe knows how you feel and He waits for you to come into His arms.

GPS  (God’s Directions)

• Lamentations 3: 22-23 NLT
• Jeremiah 30:18
• Psalms 103:13

Prayer Focus:

Come into the Father’s arms and tell Him how much you appreciate His faithfulness toward you.

Making A U-Turn With God

Jeremiah 31:21-22 (The Message)

 Set up signposts to mark your trip home. Get a good map.  Study the road conditions. The road out is the road back.

We’ve never gone too far away from God to come back.  The road does not disappear from behind us.  It’s always there waiting for us. We can turn around and come back into the Father’s loving arms.

Who hasn’t made mistakes?  Who hasn’t left the pathway of God’s perfect will and gotten off track?  We all have, but the good news is—-there is a road back.  God is very willing to turn us around as we yield to Him.

That’s the key….yielding to Him.  At times we can be stubborn because we don’t want to admit that we made the mistake.  He wants us to admit our sin of willfulness (doing it our own way), ask forgiveness for it, and then run back into His arms.

Stubborness is really pride and a lot of time pride stems from an insecurity.  We feel we have to defend our mistake rather than ask forgiveness for it in order to save face.  Thus we become unteachable.  When that happens, God has to wait until we are ready to come running to Him, because He will not violate our free will.

GPS  (God’s Directions) 

Luke 15: 11-32

I John 1:9

Jeremiah 31: 28b The Message Bible

Prayer Focus:

Ask God to show you the areas of your life that are not totally submitted to Him.

Day 16     I Am Determined

Isaiah 50:7 (New International Version)

 ⁷ Because the Sovereign LORD helps me,
       I will not be disgraced.
       Therefore have I set my face like flint,
       and I know I will not be put to shame.

That sounds like “determination,” doesn’t?  Determination comes when we are confident and confidence comes when we have spent time with God. 

I have found that daily meetings with God at a specific time creates an atmosphere of dialog.  In the business world that is natural.  It should be natural in the spiritual world also.  

Dialoging with God takes a little getting used to.  At first it might seem like we are doing all the talking and God is not even there, but as we continue to meet with Him on a regular basis, we will begin to sense His presence.

Yesterday’s scripture (Isaiah 30:21) tells us that He is willing to talk to us.  One way that He speaks is through His Word.  I use an easy-to-understand version of the Bible and an easy-to-relate-to devotional.  

Iff you are serious abut having these consistent, daily “meetings,” you will begin to sense His presence with you. As your read His Word, you will have confidence in what He wants and what He will do.  Then you can set your face like flint and not be moved by the circumstances around you.

GPS (God’s Directions)

John 16:24

Psalms 46:10

Psalms 57:7

Prayer Focus:

Set a time and a (quiet) place to meet with God and then say, “Here I am, God, ready to spend time with You.”

       God Gives Specific Directions    

Isaiah 30:21 (New International Version)

²¹ Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it."

Need direction??  Don’t we all—about one thing or another—about big things and even about little things.

God wants us to ask for His directions.  When we aren’t sure which way to go, we can waste a lot of time trying to figure it out ourselves—and in the end we can’t even be sure we went the right way.

God is calling us to develop our ability to dialog with Him.  He listens when we speak to Him and He wants us to listen for what He has to say.  That’s the way a conversation works.

One way that He speaks to us is through His Word.  That’s why I give you the “GPS (God’s Directions).”  The Word of God is like a roadmap for your life—a GPS that speaks into your life, showing you which way to go.

Dialoging with God takes practice.  If you consistently have a meeting with God, you will get to know Him more personally.  The result will be that you will recognize when one of your thoughts is from God.  You will know that your thought is from God because it will be bathed in peace.

GPS  (God’s Directions)

• Proverbs 16:3  Amplified Bible
• Matthew 7: 7-8
• Jeremiah 33:3

Prayer Focus:

If God were sitting across from you at a table, what question would you ask Him?  Be sure to thank Him for meeting with you!!

I AM Your God

Isaiah 41:10

New Living Translation (NLT)

Don’t be afraid, for I am with you.  Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God.  I will strengthen you and help you.  I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.

Can you imagine?  God Himself saying, “Don’t be afraid, for I AM with you….I AM your God.”  Two times you see, “I AM.”  

Another place that we see “I AM” is in Exodus 3 when God had just instructed Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt and escort them into the Promised Land.  

Have you ever had to face something that felt bigger than you?  I am sure everyone can answer “yes” to that question.  Thankfully we have a Father who is bigger than the situation before us.  When we stand with Him, the two of us together are bigger than anything we are facing.  No need to fear with God at our side.

Here are His promises:

I AM more than enough for you.

I AM there with you.

I AM your very own God.

Whenever we feel alone, we can go back to the arms of the great I AM.  It’s there that you will experience His love.  He wants to help His children through any “bigger than life” assignment or problem.

GPS (God’s Directions)

Exodus 3:14   Amplified Bible

Romans 8:31, 37

Psalms 27:1

Prayer Focus:

Spend time thanking God that you are not alone and that He is more than enough for you.

 Finding Rest For Your Soul

Jeremiah 6:16   New Living Translation (NLT)

This is what the Lord says: “Stop at the crossroads and look around. Ask for the old, godly way, and walk in it.  Travel its path, and you will find rest for your souls."

Our soul is the “house” where our thoughts and our emotions “live.”  Out of these thoughts and emotions, come the choices we make.  If we are abiding in the Vine, our soul lines up with the plan of heaven and we have peace.  If not, confusion leading to defeat results.  Despair sets in and the slippery slop is near.

If this is a place that you recognize, what should you do?  When we reach the crossroads where a choice needs to be made, our verse says “look” and “ask.”  Look around and ask for the “old, godly way.”

To keep it simple, this means to look back when you first came to the Lord and began your relationship with Him.  Spend time thinking about your original journey and “ask” God where you deviated from His plan for you.  Our verse says that it is time to make a choice.  Either proceed on your own or go back to where you left God and walk with Him, and you will “find rest for your souls.”

GPS  (God’s Directions)

• John 15: 4-5
• Jeremiah 31:25  The Message
• Psalms 116: 6-7 

Prayer Focus:

Go to your heavenly Father today and ask Him where you might have gotten off track.  Perhaps it was just earlier today——with maybe a wrong attitude—-or maybe it was years ago.  In any case, God has rest for you today.

NOTE:  if you are not sure that you are part of God’s family, continue to read on.

How To Receive Jesus Christ As Savior

Maybe you are thinking, “I don’t feel like I am a part of this.  It’s like I am outside looking in.”  I want you to know that Jesus’ arms are wide open to you.  They were opened at the cross because of His overwhelming love for you.  (John 3:16)   Right now He is calling you unto Himself.  He knows that you are not perfect.  You don’t have to be to come to Him.  That’s why He went to the cross in the first place---for your sins.  Yes, for the sins of the whole world, but personally for your sins.  You can come into His outstretched arms and find rest for your soul.  You can put your head upon His chest and hear the beating of His heart of love for you.

We’ve all sinned and He died for all of us.  Some of us come to Him and some do not.  This is your time to come!!  You are not reading this by accident.  God is calling you to come right now!

Take a few minutes and meet Him at these verses below.  Let Him speak to you through them.

We are all sinners:

Romans 3: 10, 23,    Romans 5:8,     Romans 6:23

We can ask God to forgive us:

Romans 10:13,    Acts 3: 19

We can put our trust in Jesus and become His child.

John 1:12

We can confess that Jesus is our Lord:

Romans 10: 9-10

As you ask forgiveness of your sins and express your desire to live for Him, you will enter the family of God and never feel on the outside again!!

It’s time to pray.  Let me help you.

Prayer:

Father, I understand that Jesus Christ went to the cross and shed His blood for me.  I also understand by the scriptures that I am a sinner.  Jesus, forgive me for all my sins. 

 (Let them come to mind.  Then see yourself giving them to Him.  As soon as they are in His hands, they disappear forever!!  Amazing!!)

 Be my Lord and my Savior.  I commit my whole life into Your capable hands.  Father, help me to hear Your instruction and direction,  and help me to live for You all the days of my life.  Thank You.  Amen.